9. Play (Maternity) [anii '30]

Through a sculpture of grace and harmony of the human body, Vasile Ionescu-Varo presents himself as an artist who easily assimilated the rigor and demands of the academia from the beginning of the last century. His sculptures are made with impeccable technical correctness, but at the same time they are full of expressiveness and emotion. The present sculpture reflects the manner of work of the National School of Fine Arts in Bucharest, where he trained, but also the impact of the scholarship received in 1911, which put him in direct contact with French art and masters. Such scholarships were also granted to other sculptors trained in Bucharest, such as Ştefan Ionescu-Valbudea, and significant similarities can be observed between the works of the two. A common feature is the preference for figures portrayed in a lying position, in a posture of rest. Adriana Botez recalls that Valbudea’s work "Sleeping Child" (1893) achieved "for the first time in Romanian art the agreement between the lyrical content and its plastic transfiguration." In the same direction, Ionescu-Varo continues this tradition, proposing works that surprise with relatable emotions and states, to which the viewer can easily empathize. Adriana Botez also recalls the so-called "principle of gradual shading", a subtle game of light and shadow, found in Ionescu-Varo's works. The light seems to "slide" over the modeled surfaces, revealing the form through smooth and continuous transitions, thus emphasizing the delicacy and refinement of the volumes. The same sensitivity is found in the work "Daydreaming", where Ionescu-Varo manages to convey not just the form, but also the internal state of the character. The female figure, spread in a posture of apparent rest, is yet captured in a moment of slight tension. The modeled surface is treated with the same smooth transitions between light and shadow, illustrating, as in "Maternity", not only the anatomy, but also the fragility of the moment. Another similarity is the special attention paid to the support. This is not just a passive background, but is actually part of the atmosphere of the work, actively participating in the intimacy of the framework.

References

CRUCERU, Florica, POSTOLACHE, Luminita-Dana, DARIDA, Ioan , "Dictionary of Artists from the Romanian Space 1700-1920", ACS publishing 2021, Bucharest 2019.

Dimensions

depth 37.5 cm, width 31 cm, height 24.5 cm

Description

marble, signed on the right side, at the base, "Ionescu Varo"

Dating

anii '30

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